Posted 1st November 2008Message from the Board of the EKF to all Squad members headng to Tokyo

The Board of the EKF would like to wish the Senior Squad participating in the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, the best of luck and good fortune. To be competing and attending these championships is a wonderful opportunity to show the world that England are back in business.

The Board would also like to say thank you to, Sensei Terry Wingrove and Cyberbudo for their generous sponsorship of the senior team without his help this would not have been possible. Also a big thank you to Chikara Ltd and AVA Sports for their equipment sponsorship of the team. Thanks, also goes to everyone behind the scenes working together to ensure this is a successful championships.

The WKF has announced that the Face Mask which becomes compulsory from January 1st 2009 will be available from November 1st 2008 - Read more here »

Posted 21st October 2008Regular Greg Francis Training

Kumite classes suspended till 8th January 2009. Last class this year will be Thursday 30th October 2008.

Greg Francis will be attending the World Karate Championships in Tokyo as Assistant National Coach and then will be conducting seminars in Australia. He will be away until the 28th November 2008.

Posted 13th October 2008 Paris 2009 Squad announced

On Sunday 12th of October final squad selections took place for the forthcoming Junior/Cadet European Championships and Euro Cup Championships which are to take place in Paris France January/February 2009.

120 athletes attended the initial training session at the Dartford Judo Club. This was the first time this venue had been used and most athletes and spectators attending were impressed with the facilities and hospitality of the staff at the centre. Following the warm-up session hosted by Greg Francis and aided by Juliet and her sister Gillian Toney, the Kata and Kumite training took place with the Kata group splitting away from the Kumite group and then the Kumite groups being further split by gender. The training session, which commenced at 10:30am finished at 12:30pm allowing sufficient time for the Cadet/Junior selections to complete.

The first selections to commence were Kata starting with the Girls Cadet 14-15yrs group. With the Boys group following next. Then the Female Junior 16-17yrs group which was followed by the boys group performed their Katas for selection. The lucky athletes that were picked were announced by the National Coach Ticky Donovan at the end of the Kata selection.

The Kumite selections were conducted over two mats, the girls being split from the boys. Both groups started with the younger members working their way through to the U21’s. Greg Francis and Juliette Toney oversaw the girls selections whilst the boys selections were overseen by Ticky Donovan and Wayne Otto – both OBE’s. Both groups were finally called over together as the successful squad members for the Cadet/Junior European Championships were announced.

Ticky Donovan OBE would like to thank the Referees who were in attendance on the day for their help in ensuring that the selections ran smoothly and on time. Also thanks to Surdhur Mohinder for medical coverage and to the coach’s’ Wayne Otto OBE, Juliette & Gillian Toney, Greg Francis and Jonathan Mottram.

Squad members for Paris 2009 are:

Male 14 -15yrs

Oliver Doyland – Brown

Ryan Jay

Harley Del – Rio

Adam Clements

Joshua Gagon

Male 16 – 17 Yrs

Jay Kirton

Benjamin Coward

Alex Sell

Alex Kinsmore

Saule Del - Rio

Male 18 - 19 – 20yrs

Ross Mathieu

Gareth Hains

Michael Campbell

Stand-By Michael Campbell

Male Kata

Mitchell Roberts

Jack Dixon

Female 14 – 15yrs

Chloe Cooper

Kate Karwacinski

Hannah Baker

Female 16 – 17 Yrs

Stephanie Thorndick

Alice Goudie

Charlotte Platts

Female 18 - 19 – 20yrs

Carla Burkitt

Reisha Hull

Rio Smith

Female Kata

Rachel Newey

Emma Lucraft

Posted 15th September 2008Athletes required to return for final selections

Male Cadet

Mark Hansford

Oli Doyland Brown

Daniel Szabo

Lyle Moore

Thomas Hickman

Ryan Jay

Samuel Difford

James Govind - Somers

Jake Langley

Harley Del - Rio

Stephen Karhacinski

Adam Clements

Zachary Scott

Joshua Gagon

Male Junior

Carrick Eastwood

Gavin Bailey

Conon Lynn

Jay Kirton

Benjamin Coward

Patrick Love

Alexander Kinsmore

Harry Cannon

Alex Sell

Michael Burke

Ryan Lambert

Gareth West

Saulle Del - Rio

Male Under 21

Mitch Scotcher

Mashaka Masanglo

Chris Harris

Ross Mathieu

Robert Osborn

Alex Hodge

Adam Frances

Gareth Hains

Cheyne Phillips

Billy Bates

Akan Eka

Joseph Campbell

Female Cadet

Chloe Cooper

Charlene Oakes

Kate Karnacinski

Michelle Little

Heidi Jay

Phillipa Morris

Hannah Barker

Laura Wheeler

Sarria Joseph

Female Junior

Melissa Holmes

Sophie Richardson

Alixandra Harris

Stephanie Thorndick

Alice Goudie

Sophie Roberts

Chloe Sheldon

Charlotte Plats

Rachael Anders

Whitney Rose

Female Under 21

Carla Burkitt

Siobhan

Reisha Hull

Jade Honeywood

Rio Smith

Nicola Roche

Posted 14th September 2008Full House!

A great weekend of activity for the EKF was rounded off with the National Squad/Open Training Selection for 36th Junior European Championships in Paris, France 2009 at Bisham National Sports Centre.

Registration was scheduled for 10-00am and by 9-30am more than 120 had signed-on and the session opened with more than 150 on the mat and late arrivals lined up at the edge of the mat. The spectators were the most we have seen with every available vantage point in and outside the dojo crammed to capacity. The training and selections were led by the multi-world champion Wayne Otto OBE and his team.

The atmosphere was very good and everyone agreed that these sessions have come a very long way over the past 18 months. This complimented the efforts of the English senior team under the National Coach Ticky Donovan OBE who were in Liege this weekend competing in a 4 nation competition against France, Belgium & Holland as a warm-up to the World Championships in Tokyo in November (see separate report for details and photos - to be published asap). The seniors move onto Paris next month for a final warm-up competition.

Posted 29th August 2008Tokyo World Championships 2008 Squad Announced

The England Squad National Karate Team to participate in the forthcoming WKF World Championships being held in Tokyo have been announced. The participants and their respective categories are as follows:

Male England Squad

Male Kata - Jonathan Mottram

Male U60kg - Ritchie McMillan

Male U65kg - Thomas Canham

Male U70kg - Jason Ledgister

Male U75kg - Alton Brown

Male U80kg - Loxey Simmonds

Male O80kg - Davin Pack

Male Open - Rory Daniels

Male Team - Paul Abel, Jory-Barh Chather,
Darren Haynes

Female England Squad

Female Kata - Ashleigh Kenny

Female U53kg - Sarah Donnelly

Female U60kg - Natalie Williams

Female O60kg - Katie Hurry

Female Open - Natalie Williams

Female Team - Gemma Marwood

Posted 4th August 2008Squad training date confirmations

A reminder that there is one confirmed upcoming Squad training / selection dates at Bisham Abbey:

14th September 2008 (for Paris)KUMITE ONLY THIS SESSION

Posted 24th July 2008Medal for Alton Brown in Poland

The University World Championships were held in Poznan, Poland on the 12-13 July 2008.

Congratulations to Alton Brown, Senior England Team member, who won a bronze medal in his category at the championships.

With regard to the selections for the Senior World Championships in Tokyo, there will only be Kumite selections at Bisham Abbey on the 5th July 2008. The kata competitors have been pre-selected on the basis of recent achievements.

Congratulations to all the English Karate Federation members that competed in the Commonwealth Karate Championships, Edinburgh. There were some fantastic results from England which can only set the standard for future championships. The Championships were held over 2 days at the Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh with 1300 competitors from 9 countries. All the results from are now available to view.

The Board of the EKF have given consideration to the initial decision not to send a National Squad to the Karate Commonwealth Championships being held in Edinburgh, Scotland, following the Scottish Governing Body's recent
inclusion of the 'Elite' categories for National Squads. After further consideration, the Board have decided it would now be prudent to support this event in light of the championship restructuring. The decision of the Board is to send the current Senior England National Squad, who are currently representing England in the European Championships in Estonia, to the Commonwealth Championships. Only the current senior squad will be processed to enter the 'Elite' Championship events. All remaining EKF athletes may still enter the Open Championship events via their own EKF Associations.

We wish the squad all the best in their endeavours not only in the current European Championships, but also for the forth-coming Commonwealth Championships and we extend our best wishes to all Associations supporting the Commonwealth Karate Championship Open events.

Posted 1st April 2008Drugs testing at the EKF National Championships 5th & 6th April

Drug testing at the EKF National Championships 5th & 6th April - Following extensive investigation into the drug testing of contestants at the National Championships we are told by the various Sports bodies both Nationally and Internationally that we must comply with the information as stated in these 3 links:

With 44 counties and 700 elite athletes competing, this was the largest Junior & Cadet European Championships to date. The England squad flew out from Heathrow Airport on Tuesday 12th February arriving at their hotel in Trieste, Italy, early evening. The following two days the squad had some training sessions at the Palatrieste Stadium, venue of the 35th Junior & Cadet Championships. Read the full report here

Posted 20th February 2008TOKYO - HERE WE COME!

We are very pleased to announce that the EKF has today obtained confirmation from sponsors that they will fund the team and officials for the trip to the WKF World Championships in Tokyo in November. This will motivate not only the competitors but the also give the staff the required time to train the team to their fighting best. We will also be updating details over the next 3 days for the superb package we have been able to negotiate for the families,supporters and others to travel to Japan for 2 weeks to train and/or sightseeing also including tickets for the Championships with first class accomodation

Posted 16th February 8.00pm 2008Trieste results as they come in!

Tom Gibbings - Under 75Kg - Silver

Katie Hurry - Over 60Kg - Bronze

Ashleigh Kenny - Female (Cadet Kata) - Bronze

Posted 11th February 2008Irish Open Postponed

To all our members. We understand that the Irish International Open has been postponed. Please contact the organisers of this event for an update

Well after the last couple of training sessions who would have thought we would break the 100 barrier with athletes in attendance for this training and selection session. There were over 30 athletes alone in the Kata training session led by Jonathan Mottram.

It was inspiring to see many of the seniors training again, a positive step forward for the sport side of karate. Natalie Williams, Jory Charter, Davin Pack, Jason Ledgister and Alton Brown to name a few, were impressive - showing the up-and-coming younger athletes what they will be competing against in the future. The seniors set the standard and will hopefully lead by example, many of the younger athletes look towards the seniors and indeed all the squad for motivation, guidance and inspiration. The magic, the hunger and the desire to be the best was all there. Impressive stuff!!

Once again the coaches changed the format with all kumite, young and old training together, with the obvious split from Kata. During the Senior Selections the Junior/Cadet Squad was taken to another part of the hall where Wayne Otto OBE took the Squad through their final paces in preparation for European Championships. The senior selections were overseen by Ticky Donovan OBE, Juliette Toney and Greg Francis. At around 5:00pm the seniors were all brought together and the chosen squad announced.

Training dates for the coming months are to be confirmed, all of which will take place at Bisham Abbey. Training with Ticky Donovan OBE and Wayne Otto OBE will continue at their respective dojo’s in Park Avenue, Barking Essex, and University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus Sports Centre Gorway Road Walsall respectively. All squad members are expected to attend either sessions.

The board would like to say "good luck" to the Squad competing in Trieste and congratulations to the Seniors on their Selections for Estonia.

With regard to the Commonwealth Championships in Scotland, the Board have now been informed that the organisers are opening up the championships to clubs and associations that are members of Governing Bodies who are affiliated to the World Karate Federation. The Board have decided that they will not be sending a National Team to this event. If your Association or club wish to compete please find details on the Calendar page or you can go to www.karatecommonwealth.com

Posted 30th January 2008EKF Squad Training Report (27th January)

The English Karate Federation’s National Open Squad sessions have been up and running for a little while now since the initial squad selections for the Junior and Cadet World Championships which were held last October. So far there have been four open squad training sessions with two of them incorporating National Squad selections for the Junior/Cadet World Championships and the Junior/Cadet European Championships. The last two sessions have been training only sessions lasting the whole day which have proved hugely popular and represented exceptional value for the calibre and duration of training received.

The latest session was held at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, on Sunday 27th January 2008. The session started at 11:00am sharp and finished at 3:00pm. With just a half hour break between the morning and afternoon sessions. The turn out was once again impressive with around 90 athletes being put through their paces. The Junior/Cadet squad attending the European Championships in Trieste, Italy in a couple of weeks were split from the main contingent and drilled incessantly by National Squad Coach Wayne Otto OBE. The remaining athletes were further split into three groups – Female Squad Coach Juliette Toney, taking the female Kumite athletes, Assistant Coach Greg Francis, taking the male Kumite athletes and Kata Coach Jonathan Mottram taking the ever increasing Kata athletes. The entire training session was overseen by National Squad Director Ticky Donovan OBE who got the opportunity to work more closely with some of the groups and athletes.

It was once again good to see such a large turn out for just a training session and great to see some of the experienced senior athletes, such as John Anderson, Paul Abel, Alton Brown, Natalie Williams, etc in attendance. It was also great to see the Kata athletes increasing in numbers with over 20 being trained by Jonathan Mottram, his coaching style obviously being appreciated. With the amount of athletes training, the only concern is that Bisham Abbey’s Judo Hall seems to be getting a little small!

The desire to train with and be part of the EKF England National Squads seems to be increasing which bodes well for English Karate. As more and more athletes train amongst their peers with world renowned coaches, the performance of each athlete increases, which in turn raises the whole competitiveness of Sport Karate in England developing England into a major European and World player.

On 9th February 2008, the forthcoming Open Squad Training Session and Senior Selection event for the European Championships looks likely to be one of the busiest sessions yet with the Junior/Cadet squad training, the Senior selections taking place in the afternoon and the chance for all athletes to train with some of the most experienced and accomplished Karateka athletes in England it looks to be a mouth watering prospect.

Posted 18th January 2008Thank you!

"Thank you to all the staff, squad and coaches - all payments for the Junior/Cadet European Karate Championships, Trieste have now been received from you. You should all now have the details regarding flights/accommodation etc. Any problems please contact Debbie Sell at admin@englishkaratefederation.com"
D Sell

Posted 15th January 2008Training / Selection on Saturday 9th February 2008 for the Senior Europeans 2008 in Estonia

Please complete and return to Ticky Donovan as detailed on the form. The form must be returned by Monday 4th February 2008, if not you will only be allowed to train and not take part in the selections.